SGIC is reminding South Australian drivers to take care and be vigilant when merging, with new research revealing merging is a common headache for many Australian drivers.
The insurer’s research showed that more than half (54 per cent) of Australian drivers admitted to having had trouble merging, and over three quarters (83 per cent) claimed to have experienced another driver’s poor merging technique*.
SGIC Head of Research, Robert McDonald, is urging drivers to be careful when merging.
“Based on our claims data, most merging collisions we see are where drivers have tried to merge with traffic while travelling too slowly, or have completely stopped in the merging lane. This not only disrupts the flow of traffic, but can result in cars being rear-ended,” Mr McDonald said.
“Road rules for merging are quite straightforward – when two lines of traffic become one and there are no marked lines, a driver must give way to any vehicle that is ahead of their own. If a vehicle wants to move from one marked lane of traffic into another, they must give way to the lane of traffic they are moving into.”
The SGIC research further revealed that just under two thirds (65 per cent) of Australian drivers always allow others to merge, with one third (35 per cent) sometimes or never letting other drivers merge.
When having experienced another driver’s bad merging manoeuvre, almost half (43 per cent) admitted to responding negatively by either yelling, beeping their horn, using hand gestures, or tailgating the other driver.
To avoid merging mishaps, Mr McDonald offers the following tips to drivers:
Top five merging collision locations for South Australia:
“We’re urging drivers to take extra care when passing through these locations. Many of these are popular routes on both weekdays and weekends, so it’s important that drivers remain calm and courteous when in a hurry or heavy traffic,” Mr McDonald said.
*Based on a survey of over 1000 Australians by Pure Profile Research in January 2016.
Media hotline number: 02 9292 9742